The Dancer in The Rain
by StormAria
Summary: Natsu caught himself in the rain when heading to the guild. As it was just drizzling, he hardly minded. Happy was already there, so it was pretty much a quiet journey. Looking at Magnolia's park, he saw someone dancing. Who could it be? Why did the person seem familiar?
1. Simply Beautiful

**Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail**

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Natsu POV

"It's raining today too, huh?" I slightly frowned.

It was not like I hated the rain or anything. It was just that I had forgotten to bring my umbrella. Again. I kept wondering why I thought it was not going to rain today. When, in fact, it had rain the entire week.

Sighing, I looked up at the dark sky. Raindrops fell softly on my face, like it was caressing my cheeks. The rain felt as cold as ice to me but I manage to ignore it. Though, my clothes on the other hand were slowly getting heavier, getting soaked.

"Well, at least it's not pouring like crazy..." I mumbled to myself, "It's too late to head back home anyways."

I continued my walk, heading towards the guild I was a member of - Fairy Tail. Just thinking about the warm plate of food waiting for me there, set my mouth watering. Or, should I say, plates of food. And I was sure Mira would have a fluffy towel ready just for me.

Happy was also there waiting for me. He left earlier, saying something about wanting to see Carla, Wendy's exceed and dodging the oncoming rain. I already knew the first sentence that would come out of his mouth when I arrive later. 'I told you so~!'

Oh, and Lucy should be there too. I went by her place just now expecting her to be there but her room was empty when I went in through the window. And here I thought I could have a walk with her to the guild. Oh well! The more reason to get there faster!

Smiling to myself, I glanced at the park as I picked up the pace. But I abruptly stopped. My eyes widen in surprise. Someone was there, dancing in the rain. It was a girl. I was very positive that it was a girl. No man would have a body like that!

I watched as the rain glistened down her flawless skin. She moved with the gracefulness of a swan. My attention was completely engulfed in her precise dance steps.

Her clothes stuck to her like glue. They were completely drenched but I doubt she minded much. I could make out the smile that was adorned on her bright face, despite the rain.

"Beautiful..." I murmured.

She turned around as though she had heard me. Surprise was drawn on her face. Then, she opened her mouth and said one word. Or more, a name.

"Natsu,"

Huh? That was my name. She knew me? It must be my hair. Being the only pinkette in Magnolia, let alone Fairy Tail pretty much meant that I was easily known.

I still could not identify the person standing a few feet in front of me. But I knew she had blond hair.

Her voice though, it sounded familiar. Sweet. Like... Lucy?

"Luce? Is that you?" I asked, unsure of myself.

I could not smell her normal vanilla and strawberry scent because of the rain. Rain smells a lot like bleach, which was not a nice smell at all.

The girl walked towards me with a smile. Each step she took confirmed my suspicion. It was Lucy.

"Yeah, it's me. Who else would dance in the rain?" she asked a rhetorical question.

"Oh, I don't know. A monkey?" I retorted, laughing.

I was relieved that it was her. I did not know why though. Lucy puffed up her cheeks at my reply. How cute. Wait... Did I say cute? No, she looked like a bunny that stuffed its mouth full of food. Which, was actually cute. Hmm.

"Hmph! Well, whatever!" she turned her back and stomped her way back to the tree where her stuff were.

"And where are you going?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"To the guild. The rain is starting to get heavy," she said matter-a-factly.

That made me glance at the darkening sky. She was right. It was going to be a storm in just a few short minutes. That reminded me that Luce was scared of thunder.

"Hey, you coming or not?" Lucy called out to me, walking away.

"Yeah, yeah," I said as I ran up next to her, "We better hurry though, it's going to be a storm."

I took her hand in mine and raced to the shelter of the guild.

Only then did I realised that my wish came true. I was walking with Lucy to the guild. Well, running to the guild and in the rain, no less.

But what the heck! I would take whatever I could get.

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**Edited to fix grammar and spelling mistakes.**

**To new readers: Hope you liked it!**

**Love,**

**~StormAria~**


	2. Are You Alright?

**Ok, ok~ You know how I said that this was a oneshot? Well, I changed my mind. I mean, there's just going to be one more chapter after this one and then, I promise to end it!**

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Natsu POV

"Hello, everyone!" Lucy and I greeted our guild members as we pushed through the guild doors.

Relief washed over us when we finally got out of the rain, as shouts of greeting were heard all around. We actually managed to get there before the storm!

Then we heard a "You're all wet, Natsu, Lushy!" and "You ran in the rain?" from Happy and Levy. I grinned at their exclaimations.

"Well, how else did you expect us to get here?" I dried myself off by warming up my clothes, laughing the whole time.

"See, Natsu? I told you so~!" Happy said spitefully.

"Yeah, yeah... I got you," I rolled my eyes.

"N-natsu! Did you forget that I'm s-still soaked?!" Lucy yelled, shivering.

Her teeth were rattling. To me, it sound just like someone biting on a fork. It hurt my sensitive ears. If I were a cat, my ears would be flat on my head by now.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, Luce!" Smiling apologetically, I put my right hand over one of her shoulders, drying her off.

I was not about to tell her how distrubed I was with the rattling sound. Besides, it was going to be over soon.

"Ah! Much better!" Lucy exclaimed once she was completely dry, "Thanks, Natsu!"

"Sure thing! Mira! Feed me! I'm starving~!" I said cheekily to Mirajane, "Oh, and can you get me a towel?"

"Sure, Natsu! Coming right up!" Mira smiled.

"Why on earth would you need a towel for? You're already dry!" Lucy scold me, giving me a disapproving expression.

"Cause it's soft and fluffy," I said nonchalantly.

"Soft... and fluffy?" Lucy raised an eyebrow.

Sniff. Sniff. Lucy smelled like salt. She still smelled like vanilla and strawberries but there was salt somewhere in the mix now. What could have made her smell salty? Argh, what am I talking about?

"What's with that expression? You're such a weirdo, Luce," I said as I stuffed myself with food after wraping the towel handed to me around Lucy to prove my point, "See? Fluffy."

"You're the weird one here, Natsu!" Lucy replied, hitting my right shoulder.

Her cheeks were slightly tinted red as she puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. My eyebrows furrowed as I stopped eating. Did she suddenly have a fever?

"Hey, do you have a fever or something?" I pressed my forehead to hers to check her temperature, "You were out in the rain for quite some time..."

Her cheeks turned even redder for some reason. I pulled away, confused. She did not have a fever. Lucy was being so complicated today.

A sudden image of Lucy dancing in the rain flashed through my eyes. I should really ask her about that. I was then forcefully pulled out of my daydream when I felt a hard thud on the back of my head.

"Hey, Flamebrain! Are you bullying Lucy again?" Gray scowled.

God, how I found this ice princess annoying.

"What did you say, popsicle?!" Anger colouring my face.

"You heard me, you retard!" Gray's face mirrored my expression.

"You want to go, stripper?!"

"Bring it on, Fire Breath!"

"Oh! Hey, Erza!" Lucy's voice cut in our verbal fight.

Gulp. Erza. She was back?

"We're fine!"

"Fighting? Us? No way!"

"We're teammates!" we both said together, our arms slinging each others shoulder looking all buddy-buddy.

Suddenly, we heard giggles. Turning around, we realised that the giggles were from Lucy, Happy and Levy. Erza was nowhere in sight.

Shrugging, I returned to my plates of food. Gray took a sit on the bench infront of Lucy and me.

"Hey, Lucy. You ok?" Gray's eyebrows furrowed just like mine had a minute ago.

Concern was written plainly on his face.

"Yeah, Lushy! Your eyes are all red and there's black stuff under them!" Happy butted in looking closely at Lucy, "You didn't turn into a zombie, did you?"

"Lu-chan, are you alright?" Levy asked, just realising Lucy's current state.

"Who? Me? I'm completely fine!" Lucy looked shocked at their description of her.

"But... You know, Luce. You were out there for a long time. Why were you dancing in the rain?" I followed the interogation.

"You were dancing on the rain?!" Gray, Happy and Levy chorused.

"I just wanted to dance. It's been awhile," She said shrugging.

"But aren't you afraid of thunder?" I asked again.

Her face paled. The dark circles under her eyes became more prominate, making her look like a panda.

"T-the weather seemed nice at the time. B-besides, there wasn't any thunder," Lucy stuttered, still very much smiling.

Even though she was smiling, it seemed forced. I was getting really worried now. But I could not and would not question her here when she obviously did not want to tell us.

We all decided to drop the subject as the guild's double doors flew open with a bang. Erza? Oh, that was right. She went on a solo mission a week ago. Must have been an easy one if she was back already.

"W-welcome back, Erza!" Lucy shouted from her seat.

Was she trying to push the attention to Erza or something? Ah, well. I was going to asked her later anyways.

But, really. Why was she like this? Was she always like this on rainy days? Was that it?

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**I know, it's short. I'm reall****y trying here... But I hope you like it nonetheless!**

**The next chapter/last chapter will be out around next week if I don't suddenly have writers' block or something.**

**R&amp;R PLEASE! and thank you!**

**~StormAria~**


	3. Wash Away Your Tears

**Hey-hey~! I'm back!**

**I know I said I was going to post the last chapter next week but, well, I finished a lot earlier than I thought I was going to.**

**I hope you like it; I wasn't sure if it is good enough.**

**But enjoy anyway!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima-sensei does!**

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Natsu POV

"Natsuuu~? I'm so tired. Are we going home yet?" Happy whined as he laid on my head.

It was already dark outside. Only the moon accompanied us. We had just left the guild a few minutes ago. Passing the park, I was reminded of Lucy. 'I wonder if she's alright?'

Lucy had left the guild earlier when the rain finally let up, saying she had to get some stuff from the market. Since Happy and I hated grocery shopping, we decided to stay at the guild. But, in all actuality, we wanted to give her a little space.

"We're going to Lucy's house," I decided abruptly.

"But why~? I'm so tired I could fall asleep on your head!" Happy complained.

I frown a little remembering the salty scent on Lucy. Crossing my arms, I sighed loudly.

"Luce was crying in the rain, Happy," I told him, "I need to check up on the weirdo."

"She was?" Happy yawned, "Well, ok. As long as I get to fall asleep on her warm, soft bed..."

Then, I heard small snores on top of my head. Happy had fallen asleep. I smiled at his antic. Well, he was trying to impress Carla the whole day today. So, I could not blame him for being so tired.

Looking to my right was the river. Lucy always did walk carelessly on the beam beside it. I could imagine the absentminded expression she would have worn while dismissing the warnings from the fishermen. 'I wonder if she did that today?'

I doubt it. She seemed too disturbed to be herself. She had been so weird this past week. It must have been because of the rain! Since it had been pouring the whole week.

I turned my head towards Lucy's building. Her lights were still on. Maybe she was still up.

"Happy, wake up! I need a lift to Lucy's window," I pulled one of his cheeks.

"Why don't you use the door for once? Mira did give you her spare key awhile back, remember?" Happy replied sleepy.

I did remember. But I had never used it before and I was not going to start now. Since I left it at our house. Not that I was going to admit that to Happy!

"But where's the fun in that?" I retorted.

Happy snorted.

"You left it at home with the umbrella, didn't you?" Hapy asked me as he lifted me up to Lucy's window with lidded eyes.

I slowly pushed the window opened. Happy flew me in and set me gently on the floor before he lazily settled beside Lucy's fallen blanket that was on the floor.

I quickly shut the window and turned back, scared if she was awake, she would kick us out. But there she was, asleep on her bed. She had such a disturbed expression on her face. Her bed was in disarray, like she had trashed around on it. 'Is she having nightmares?'

My mind was working slower than my body just then. I switched her lights off and kneeled beside her bed.

Only the moonlight eluminated Lucy's room. I stared at her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed. She was biting her lip and I could see trails of tears on her cheeks. 'She was even crying in her sleep.'

I soothen her blonde hair and held one of her small hands. Her furrowed expression quickly softened and it looked like she was smiling. She pulled my hand closer to her, hugging it and intertwining our fingers.

"Natsu..." She sighed.

I momentarily stiffened. My eyes grew wide. 'Did I wake her? Did she wake up? Was I going to get kicked in the face?' My mind was thinking up questions at the speed of light.

Which was all a waste of time as Lucy's breathing became that of someone fast asleep. Calm and stable. I slowly relaxed and smiled. I continued soothing her hair down until I, too, fell asleep.

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Lucy POV

I woke up with something warm between my hands. It had a rough surface and seemed strong and hard. Opening my eyes, I realised it was a hand. Natsu's hand to be precise.

I felt blood rushing to my face. Natsu was asleep with his head near my pillow and was sitting on my floor. I quickly untangle our fingers and gave him a kick.

"LUCY KICK!" I yelled as my foot swung to met his head.

He woke up with a start. Happy had also woken up, startled.

"Ouch!" Natsu exclaimed, rubbing his head, "What was that for?"

"What are you guys doing in my house?!" I yelled, annoyed.

"Lushy, don't be mad at us," Happy said cowering a little.

Natsu scratched his head and looked at me. He blinked and came closer. I pulled away a bit, my blush intensifying.

"W-what?" I stummered.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked with a smile.

He placed his right hand on my forehead, checking my temperature. I simply swatted him.

"I"m not sick!" I could not help but yell, irritated.

"Come on, Luce. Aren't we partners? You can tell me what's wrong, can't you?" Natsu sighed, fisting his hips.

"N-nothing's wrong! I-I'm completely fine!" I stuttered.

Even someone as dense as Natsu would have known I was lying. And he did know. Hell, even Happy knew!

"Stop lying. I know you were crying in the rain yesterday. And when you were sleeping too. So, tell me the truth!" Natsu begged.

"Yeah, Lushy! Why were you crying? Your crying face doesn't suit you at all!" Happy added.

I did not want to tell them. I was never planning to tell anyone. But Natsu startled me with his words.

"I know I might not be the one you want to let it out to. I'm sure you'd prefer telling Levy but at least telling someone would make you feel a little better," He said that with a concern expression.

I opened and closed my mouth, not knowing what to say. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and thought up coherent sentences in my mind. Natsu and Happy waited patiently for me to start. I had never seen Natsu being patient for anything before.

Exhaling deeply, I started to talk.

"I was dancing in the rain because I didn't have a swimming pool to hold my breath in," I gave him a vague answer.

"A swimming pool... To hold your breath in?" Natsu looked at me confused, "Are you speaking in riddles, Luce? You know I suck at riddles!"

"Yeah, Lushy! You're the only one in our team that understands riddles!" Happy said.

I must have been very perplexing to them. Natsu shook his head and looked me directly in my eyes while holding onto my shoulders.

"Stop speaking in riddles. Tell me what's wrong," Natsu said slowly.

Happy simply nodded in agreement.

I sighed. No use in stalling any further.

"I cry while dancing in the rain because I wanted to melt all my sorrows and regrets away. Losing my mother. Losing my father. And then losing one of my best friends in the world, Aquarius!" I cried in Natsu's shoulder, fisting his vest.

He did not say anything. He soothingly rubbed my back, coating me to continue.

"The rain reminds me of Aquarius. The river reminds me of her! Taking a shower reminds me of her! Even a simple glass of water!" I yelled into his vest, "I cried over a glass of water! Dancing in the rain helps mask my tears and calms me down but every time I see water, I want to cry!"

Natsu hugged me tighter and slowly patted my head. Happy went near us and hugged one of my legs. Tears were flowing from Happy's face as Natsu tried to hold his in.

All three of us fell to our knees, hugging each other tightly.

"I... I don't want to lose anyone ever again!" I screamed into his chest, "I don't care if I get sick in the rain. I don't care about any of that! I just want to forget. That's what dancing in the rain does for me! I get to forget! I get to forget the twisting pain in my chest. The feeling of someone squeezing my throat. How I can't breath! I forget all of that!"

I cried for hours and hours until I could not cry anymore. Natsu and Happy stayed with me the whole time. Never leaving me for even a second. After awhile, I fell asleep in their arms. Their warm and safe arms.

After what seemed like an hour later, I awoken from my slumber. Natsu was still patting my head. Happy was asleep on my bed.

"Hey, Luce," Natsu smiled softly.

"Hey, Natsu," I said back to him.

We both stopped talking after that. We sat comfortably in the silence that surrounded us. Neither saying anything. Neither wanting to break the silence again.

Soon after, Natsu started to speak.

"Hey, Luce? Can I be your partner?"

"... But you are already my partner, aren't you?" I said confused.

"Not that partner, we'll always be that. Can I be your dance partner?" Natsu asked, looking anywhere but me with a tint of pink on his cheeks.

"Huh?"

"Well, I can't make you stop dancing in the rain or anything after knowing why. But I don't want to leave you to be sad all alone and get sick, so..." Natsu looked at me smiling.

"I thought you hated the cold rain,"

Natsu shrugged.

"A small sacrifice for my partner. One I'm willing to take!" He grinned his goofy grin, putting a smile on my face.

"Yes, ok!" I laughed as tears fell. Happy tears for once. Finally, I was crying full of joy instead of sadness. I was free!

And it was all thanks to Natsu and Happy.

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**Hehe~ So that's the last chapter!**

**I really hope you liked it! Now, what am I going to do?**

**Oh well. R&amp;R PLEASE! **

**Thank you for reading and goodbye for my baby fanfic**

**Love always,**

**~StormAria~**


	4. Author's Note

**Hey there my dear readers!**

**I will be rewriting TDITR to fix the grammar and spelling error.**


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